were you told your twins were identical and they turned out to be fraternal and visa versa?

[KateRaeganandMichael]

Hi I have been told (when I was 11+2) when having an e/scan that the chances are that my twins are identical (because even though they are in their own sacs the membrane between them is very very thin) have you been told something like this and then gone on to have fraternal x just curious x

I was told my girls were fraternal but had them zygosity tested and they are identical. My boys I was told likely to be fraternal and they are :-)

Both times 2 sacs and 2 placentas

I've read that something like 25% of identical twins have their own placenta, and are wrongly identified as being non-identical during scans. Not heard much of the other way around, altho did read it's possible for the placentas to fuse together

I'm probably gonna get the test done just to be 100% sure

I've got 2 sacs and 2placentas and was told that if they were the same sex then there was a 25-30% chance of them being identical. Mine have got a thick membrane between the sacs. If they share a placenta ( rather than 2 separate placentas fusing together later on) and have a very thin membrane then they are identical. Most decent sonographers can spot the difference - the shape where the sacs join gives a clue too apparently.

A friend who is due 3weeks after me got told that because she had 2 placentas & sacs then they were non-identical! I think a lot of people, even health professionals, don't understand that 2 placentas doesn't automatically mean non-identical as the egg could have split early so you can get identical twins with separate placentas and sacs.

I know someone with triplets from IVF, who all had their own placentas, but they had them tested, and 2 are identical and 1 isn't

I was told straight away that mine are identical, 1 placenta and a thin membrane separating them. I don't know whether I will get them tested or not to make sure, what they look like should be a dead give away in itself

I've been meaning to come back and post against his thread, finally found the time! Just out of interest here's my story! At12 week scan when we discovered we were having twins the sonographer classed me as Monochorionic twins, MCDA was placed on my antenatal notes. She showed us the thin membrane separating them but didn't say if they were identical.Off we went none the wiser that there was so many different types of twins,until three weeks later, I googled Monochorionic and the wonderful world of twins was opened up to me! We soon learnt that 95% we were having identical twins unless the placentas had fused early on. From 16 weeks I was scanned every two weeks and very well looked after, I had one placenta and the babies had a sac each and the world was told were we're having identical twins, good we had enough bedrooms for that! At 36+5, elective c-section, first baby delivered and we had a girl, already having two sons, my husbands thoughts were on no two girls to deal with, we thought we were having more boys! One of the doctors then commented 'oh, that's a surprise' to which my husband said 'oh no you haven't found a third one in there' no they hadn't, twin two turned out to be a boy! So my twins turned out to be fraternal and we ended up with one of each, which we were not expecting at all! Don't ask how many times I have been asked if they are identical, and how do I tell them apart! I ended being one of the 5% whose placenta's had obviously fused early on- it was a shock I had expected identical,but happy they are here and healthy bless them. Five weeks old this week and we are cracking on. My husband is now looking to convert the loft to solve the bedroom situation!

When my twins were found at my 12 week scan I was told they were DCDA and although they were probably fraternal, there was a chance they might be identical. However due to a lot of fraternel twins in my family I never really expected them to be identical. The boys looked pretty similar at birth, but by 6 weeks it was obvious to me they were non id, and by 2 years everyone can tell they are non id!

My girls were DCDA and look a bit alike some days more than others-which is odd I know. I am waiting for the zygosity test results at the moment. More to satisfy our own curiosity and also not have to dish out a long winded answer to all the strangers of "well they might be/might not be...we don't know" etc etc

My twin girls were confirmed as DCDA at 12 week scan. Midwife and consultant insist they are definitely non ID and looked slightly confused when I said there is a chance they could be ID. Not that it bothers me either way but you would expect these health care professionals to know these things. The membrane separating them is very very thin.

mummypigof3 I would be very interested to hear what your results are.

www.twins.org.au/atr/publications/Van_Jaarsveld_2012_twins_zygosity.pdf

I am still waiting on results and will update on the thread. I came across this interesting piece of reading..

www.twins.org.au/atr/publications/Van_Jaarsveld_2012_twins_zygosity.pdf

I spent four years wondering about my twins who had separate placentas- one on the front and one on the back so not even close. Got the test done and they are MZ. It was great to finally be able to answer the inevitable 'are they identical?' question!

A friend spent months feeling like the worst mother in the world for not being able to tell apart her 'fraternal' twins who also turned out to be MZ.

Conversely another set that I know were delivered early due to 'twin to twin transfusion'. Now older and one is blond with blue eyes, the other brown haired with brown eyes!! So clearly info from a scan that they are 'identical' is not reliable either!

I would highly recommend getting the test done (mine was through the multiple births foundation and was £80) as I think it's an important piece on information regarding their identity and it also may be medically significant (my GP immediately put it on both their notes although the NHS wouldn't test them unless their was a medical issue with one).

Wow annie that about the TTT is pretty bad... I'm guessing one was just naturally bigger than the other then or something?! That must have been a fair bit of unnecessary worry for the parents :(

I was told that my twins were identical and told anyone who was interested while I was pregnant. When they were delivered I expected them to look identical and was surprised that they looked completely different! In the end we had them tested to get over the mummypig3 situation, as I got fed up of saying 'We're told they are!' when people asked if they were identical or not. Zygosity testing showed that they are genetically identical, so that is what I tell people now if they ask. I still think they look totally different, though, apart from when they are asleep!

I found this article interesting

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=identical-twins-genes-are-not-identical

Girls are ID. Does that change anything? No - but it's good to know.

Mummypig

Can I just ask what the test involves and is it easy to do? Thinking of getting my girls tested to clear up the are they identical issue?

I had mine tested separate sacs and placentas,
And they are fraternal, I have twin friends who where told fraternal and turned out to be identical after testing.

Thanks for letting us know Mummypig Very interesting news.

I went through the Multiple birth foundation. Cheek swabs- so not any discomfort to the girls. £80 and 4 weeks til results.
I think someone does a TAMBA discount and it's on their website.

My aunt had twins 16yrs ago and back then there was no 12wk scan. She felt that she was having twins even though the mw was adamant she wasn't. Lo and behold the 20wk scan showed identical twin girls sharing a placenta. When they were born they were completely different and when they were about 1 it was confirmed they were non id. They said the 2 placentas must have fused together. X

Gumbo - I have a friend who has twins - a boy and girl like you, except they are nearly 8.

She still gets asked if the twins are identical :o